Incidences of cancer in the Latino population are projected to increase as the U.S. Latino population grows, which is one reason former TV newswoman Ysabel Duron founded Latinas Contra Cancer in San Jose.

Photo: Ed Kashi, Encore.org

Incidences of cancer in the Latino population are projected to...

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Ysabel Duron gets interviewed at the Latinas Contra Cancer office. She spent 42 years in the TV news business before announcing her retirement in April.

Photo: Ed Kashi, Encore.org

Ysabel Duron gets interviewed at the Latinas Contra Cancer office....

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Neighbors are checking out the new store Monday October 7, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. Target stores second "City Target" will open soon at Geary and Masonic Streets with over 100,000 square feet of shopping.

After 42 years in the television news business, more than half of them at KRON-TV, Ysabel Durondecided in April to call it quits. At the age of 66, she had another career to pursue - or what a prominent social enterprise organization recently honored her for: a "second act for the greater good."

Duron, founder of Latinas Contra Cancer in San Jose, was one of seven winners of the Purpose Prize, awarded annually by Encore.org, a San Francisco nonprofit that helps people over 60 find new careers. Another honoree, a retired marketing executive works with a North Carolina organization focused on housing for disabled veterans. A former nanny is now national organizer for a domestic workers advocacy group. A retired international public health official is putting her energies into eliminating human schistosomiasis, a tropical disease estimated to affect 200 million worldwide.

"These individuals come from all walks of life, but hold one thing in common: Each is changing the world in what was once seen as the 'leftover' years," said Marc Freedman, CEO of Encore.org, who presented the awards last month.

Duron knows plenty about the disease she'd like to see gone. Diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 1999, she underwent 12 weeks of chemotherapy and four weeks of daily radiation, a "pretty horrific" experience she documented for viewers, bald head and all.

"But when I started looking around the infusion center I noticed I was the only Latina in the room," she said.

Incidences of cancer in the Latino population are projected to increase as the U.S. Latino population grows - another hurdle for a community that's been disproportionately uninsured and underserved.

"I was lucky. I had a great health plan, a great oncologist, a clear path to treatment, and I spoke English. And I had a job waiting for me," said Duron, whose cancer is in remission. "But clearly, there was a huge need for cancer services for low-income Latinos."

In addition to returning to work, Duron launched Latinas Contra Cancer in San Jose, focusing initially on Latinas with breast cancer in Santa Clara County. After working part time and as weekend anchor at KRON for several years, she announced her retirement to viewers on her 66th birthday in April.

"I decided I didn't need to do this anymore. I was at a stage where I though I could add value in another arena."

With an annual budget of $500,000 and corporate contributors including Kaiser Permanente, Safeway,Genentech and Wells Fargo, Duron and her part-time staff of 11 have launched a number of educational and support services, including help with hospice care for men and women in the Bay Area. They have also convened a series of National Latino Cancer Summits in San Francisco.

"Now we're looking to mobilize around the country and promote our resources as replicable programs," said Duron, who received the top $100,000 Purpose Prize. And she's totally in tune with Encore.org's slogan for the over-60s - "Don't just leave a legacy, live one."

"We have so much to offer social enterprise. I told Marc we have to raise the whole issue of health, and keeping the mind and body engaged. It's not just about aging. It's about what we want to leave in this world."

-- Duron is speaking at the Personalized Medicine World Conference 2014 Silicon Valley, which focuses on cancer, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Jan. 27-28. (www. 2014sv.pmwcintl.com). For more information and videos on Purpose Prize winners visit www.encore.org/prize.